eBay

Anonymous · ‎10-05-2021

I made a sale a little while ago and just went to print out the shipping label......the name on the shipping address was "White Phosphorus".

I messaged the buyer and told them that they need to put a proper name on their shipping address because I will not ship a package with "White Phosphorus" on it through the federal mail system and they should not expect me to.

I also told them I could cancel the order and send them a full refund if they choose, and please let me know which they would like.

I'm seriously considering just cancelling and refunding for "Problem with buyer's address".

Am I wrong here ?

What would you do ?

gurlcat · ‎10-06-2021

Okay first can we take a moment to appreciate the tragedy and comedy of picturing Homeland Security sending a bomb disposal robot from across a parking lot to explode a Hotwheels car?

But seriously, I have been on the receiving end of just how paranoid, powerful, and take-no-chances the USPS and Homeland Security are, on more than one occasion. The worst was having a dozen guppies seized for NINE DAYS. Yes it's perfectly okay to ship live fish; done it literally hundreds of times in both directions, and this seller packed/labeled perfectly, but in this random incidence for whatever reason, the box arrived with H.S. tape all over it, after a period of time so long I expected to find rotten fish soup inside. Yet miraculously most of them were still alive.

Now, would any postal worker even notice the name on the address? Probably not, and I'm not aware of any machine scanning that might flag key words, but who knows? If the name somehow WAS observed, a bomb ingredient would absolutely cause concern. Do you recall any time in your life with more angry, crazy people in the news?

To those saying "You should have just shipped it!" --you say that like you assume Ebay would not hold THE SELLER responsible if the item doesn't get delivered, or gets delivered late, for any reason whatsoever. Really??

What's even more shocking is all the replies saying this AFTER seeing the buyer's response! So, you sympathize with the buyer's smug refusal to do something as simple as change the name, because being 'edgy' is such a sacred right? Please. The OP clearly dodged one bullet or another, if not in shipment then after delivery.

policequilts · ‎10-06-2021

When I would send cards and notes to my mom, I always addressed :

To the old lady in this house.

Mom use to laugh at it.

The return address was : Kid ***** (Last Name)

sin-n-dex · ‎10-06-2021

@Anonymous wrote:
I made a sale a little while ago and just went to print out the shipping label......the name on the shipping address was "White Phosphorus".
I messaged the buyer and told them that they need to put a proper name on their shipping address because I will not ship a package with "White Phosphorus" on it through the federal mail system and they should not expect me to.
I also told them I could cancel the order and send them a full refund if they choose, and please let me know which they would like.
I'm seriously considering just cancelling and refunding for "Problem with buyer's address".
Am I wrong here ?
What would you do ?

Maybe it's the name of his business.

C.

Anonymous · ‎10-06-2021

Maybe it's his cosplay name or his little immature super hero name, don't really care.

Point is was hesitant to ship a package with that substance name on it.

mama11bears · ‎10-06-2021

Name is irelevant to delivery, you can send Father's Day cards to "DAD". Just worry about having correct address.

Anonymous · ‎10-06-2021

And all of you replying that it would get to it's destination whatever name is on it are missing the point entirely.

It probably would, if the PO didn't have a spazz for it being labeled as a dangerous substance.

aeparts1 · ‎10-06-2021

I had the lady at the local Post Office refuse to take a package from me & scan it into the system because she said she "didn't like the smell" of the box. It was a typical cardboard box, I guess I could smell it, but it didn't offend me. She refused it as "suspicious". She wanted to know what was in the box, it was a plastic piece for a truck dashboard. I took it to another PO a couple of miles up the road, they took it no problem, & it arrived as it should.

So, I could see a concerned postal worker flagging a package marked white phosphorus.

You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious.

this*old*attic · ‎10-06-2021

My first husband was Lebanese, and really upset that I insisted on calling our daughter Laila (too old fashioned) and refused to name her after his big sister - Asma (too much like asthma)

katzrul15 · ‎10-06-2021

@Anonymous

5 pages! lol

Man, that is a lot of work to ship a Hot Wheels car! lol

Glad it worked out for you. We get orders with just 1 name, only initials no last name..........no clue. So far, the parcels have all been delivered.

You are correct, some postal workers have zero sense of humor about things. I think I probably would have inquired if there was an alternate name that could be used for the parcel. We get mail all the time that says:

Resident

123 Main Street

Medina, OH Zip

Maybe next time, just ship it to "Resident" at the address provided?

....... "The Ranger isn't gonna like it Yogi"......... Boo-Boo knew what he was talking about!

Posting ID Only.......
Yes, I have no Bananas, only Flamethrowers.......

beautifulbeauty2012 · ‎10-06-2021

Maybe it is a glitch? I once was printing label (paid via PayPal), and when I was doing that, I saw that MY name was RABBIT something - I was in shock! Obviously, my name is not rabbit, and I never put it that way, but those IT people (who can`t have anything to work properly) are bored and play around with such things.

If you don`t feel comfortable shipping to this name, then don`t, the name is part of the address, and there is no such person. Sometimes I get some nicknames and not real names, but order details usually have a real name, and I use that, if everything else looks ok to me.

a_c_green · ‎10-06-2021

@beautifulbeauty2012 wrote:
If you don`t feel comfortable shipping to this name, then don`t, the name is part of the address, and there is no such person. Sometimes I get some nicknames and not real names, but order details usually have a real name, and I use that, if everything else looks ok to me.

The USPS doesn't care at all about what's on the addressee line unless it's required for delivery (i.e. Restricted Delivery Signature Confirmation). Only the street address matters.

One of my regular customers puts his on-line business name on the addressee line, which I won't share here for privacy purposes except to say that it's kind of... strange... but again the post office doesn't care at all. I have others with nothing but two initials as addressee. The packages get delivered, and that's all that counts.

While a package can be refused as "Not at this address," that determination is made by the recipient, not the carrier.

(Me, I'm mainly wondering why the OP thinks he's going to get thrown in jail for something to do with white phosphorus when of course his package has nothing like that inside.)

chapeau-noir · ‎10-06-2021

Maybe all the conspiracy-mongering is starting to get to people. At least this concern isn't airy-fairy like some of these nutty conspiracies I've heard (SALAD DRESSING!!) - the substance DOES actually exist.

“The illegal we do immediately, the unconstitutional takes a little longer.” - Henry Kissinger

"Wherever law ends, tyranny begins" - John Locke (Don't get distracted).

Anonymous · ‎10-07-2021

Wasn't a matter of if the package would get there, I'm sure it would have.

The concern was sending a package marked "White Phosphorus" into the mail system and it getting flagged for being labeled as a dangerous substance.

And people get punished just as harshly for fake dangerous packages and fake bombs as if they were the real thing. Still a terrorist act, right ?

Try mailing an envelope of baby powder to a recipient named "Anthrax" and see what happens.

downunder-61 · ‎10-07-2021

I import container loads and one of the suppliers I had were called Lemon Ginger - a total stuff up on the seller's customs declaration and shippers mark on the cartons that stated Lemon and Ginger - yup, even

after 5 years of importing from this company to my company the container was held up for a full customs search (at my expense of cousre, and not cheap) because they had to verify there were no actual food stuffs inside.

So, no I don't think the OP is over thinking things, people are just not real smart at times, even if they do work for USPS, they see words written and common sense does not always prevail.

********************************************************************
I have been imported from Australia and this is my posting ID

itsjustasprain · ‎10-08-2021

@Anonymous wrote:
Wasn't a matter of if the package would get there, I'm sure it would have.
The concern was sending a package marked "White Phosphorus" into the mail system and it getting flagged for being labeled as a dangerous substance.

Thats the name on the address line. Not a hazmat label. You already had one suggestion to just abbreviate the 'name' if its bothering you so much.

@Anonymous wrote:
And people get punished just as harshly for fake dangerous packages and fake bombs as if they were the real thing. Still a terrorist act, right ?
Try mailing an envelope of baby powder to a recipient named "Anthrax" and see what happens.

But thats not what youre doing here. You have a package of some regular thing with no hazmat labeling being sent to someone with a weird name. No one is going to look twice at it. Address it to W P if it worries you so much.